Venn Brewing’s Arnie Palmer Wheat Ale • Photo Via Venn Brewing

Welcome to Beer Dabbler’s Freshies, our weekly rundown on the newest beers hitting the store shelves and taproom coolers in Minnesota from your favorite local and national breweries.

A quick glance at this week’s Freshies shows the longevity of traditional recipes, as nearly every brewery seems to have a new Oktoberfest on tap or coming soon. Some breweries are releasing their festbiers to liquor stores first and saving the home tapping until an in-house party. Others have already tapped their first keg (and plenty more).

But it’s not all German-influenced lagers a-flowing. Wheat beers are plentiful, and often fruited with raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb and more. On the hop front, Citra continues its popularity with fruited, crisp lower-calorie seltzers making their mark.

 

 

Each week, the Beer Dabbler team highlights five of the most tantalizing new beers that we’re most excited to try.

Central Waters Octoberfest – “With an enticing, bready maltiness characteristic of traditional Marzen-style lagers, Octoberfest is a radiant amber-colored brew that finishes crisp and clean,” the brewery says. 5.1% ABV, 10 IBU.

Dual Citizen Brewing Company Klar and Krispi Lagerbier – “A pseudo-lagerbier brewed with Pilsner, Vienna, Acidulated, and Wheat malt. Delicately hopped with Magnum, Loral, and Saaz. Aromas of lemon pith, lemon zest, and some bready notes,” the brewery says of this collaboration with the soon-to-open 9 Mile Brewing (Bloomington). 5.4% ABV, 18 IBU.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative Stranger in the Alps – A lager with lemon balm and spruce tips, offering earthy and herbal flavors. A collaboration with Threes Brewing (Brooklyn, NY).

Falling Knife Brewing Company Rad Wolf Shirt – Released in early August, this triple IPA features flavors of guava, papaya, mango, citrus, melon and peach and pours at 9.8% ABV. 

Fulton Brewing Raspberry Hefeweizen – It’s still summer and this fruited hefeweizen offers flavors of the season. 4.8% ABV. A taproom exclusive.

New beers available this week

608 Brewing Company

  • Citranado – The flagship IPA returns. This 7.2% ABV hazy has citrusy flavors with a dank, tropical note. 
  • Hype Machine: Passion Dragon – A fruited smoothie sour made with passion fruit, dragon fruit, mango, marshmallow, and vanilla.

612Brew

  • Corduroy Overcoat – “A flavor profile of fresh dandelion and pillowy lemon meringue, a floral aroma and a zesty citrus bite. It has a soft mouthfeel, bright carbonation and a crisp finish,” the brewery says. 4.5% ABV, 17 IBU.
  • Left-handed Slugger – Take 612 Honey Blonde Ale and add strawberry. 5.0% ABV.

Arbeiter Brewing

  • Arbeiter. Lime – Arbeiter Haus Bier gets a dose of lime in this beer that’s been popular at summer festivals and now hits the taproom. 5.0% ABV, 18 IBU.
  • Italian Pilsner – The second beer in the Collaborative Lager Series was made with help from Utepils. “To bridge our German-inspired brewery styles, this beer is heavily kettle hopped and then lightly dry-hopped with the noble German Tettnang hop and uses the Italian-grown Weyermann Eraclea Pilsner malt,” Arbeiter explains. The Pilsner offers herbal and spicy notes with clean malt character and a hint of black tea from the hop profile. 5.5% ABV, 36 IBU.
  • Sleiyer II – A tropical and tart kettle sour with pineapple, plus fruity hop notes from the inclusion of Azacca, Callista, and Mandarina Bavaria. Expect fresh pineapple flavors complemented by other citrus notes. 5.8% ABV, 28 IBU.

Blackstack Brewing

  • Foresight – One of three collaborations with The Eighty State brewing (Greenville, SC), this double dry-hopped DIPA was made with Strata, Citra, and Nelson Sauvin hops and pours at 8.5% ABV. The other two collaborations are yet to come.

https://twitter.com/BlackStackBrew/status/1428070590993293314

Central Waters Brewing Co.

  • Double Barrel Stout – Aged for 16 months, this imperial stout is now available in limited supply.
  • Hard Seltzer – The brewery just released a mixed pack containing four hard seltzer flavors: Thimbleberry Lemonade, Meyer Lemon & Key Lime, Cranberry & Tangelo, and Blueberry & White Peach. Each is 4.7% ABV, 100 calories, 2 carbs.
  • Octoberfest – Top Flight Selection

Clutch Brewing Company

  • Sequoia Double Dip-Hopped IPA – Tapped in late July and 6.3% ABV.

Copper Trail Brewing  Co.

  • 19th Hole – A Scotch ale with heavy caramel and earthy flavors.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company

  • Hazers Ain’t Chit – A hazy IPA made with chit and Colorado Select grains and a hop profile consisting of Zumba, Idaho Gem, Sultana, and Cashmere for a blend of candied citrus, tropical fruits, and a hint of pine. 7% ABV.
  • Lemongrab Shandy – On tap at 12pm today, this lemon, strawberry, and rhubarb shandy was made in collaboration with Modist. Dangerous Man kicks off its release today by offering soft serve, free hot dogs, and more shenanigans. 

Day Block Brewing Company

  • Georgia’s Satellite – A Berliner Weisse ale with peaches. Tapped in late July.
  • Purple Blaze – A hard seltzer with blueberry and lemon and just a bit of tartness. Tapped for last week’s Vikings preseason opener.
  • Rolling Dirty IPA – A bright IPA with a dry, balanced bitterness at the finish, brewed around the Nelson Sauvin hop.

Drastic Measures Brewing

  • Banana Hammock – A hard seltzer fruited with banana cream, graham cracker and marshmallow fluff. 5% ABV.

Dual Citizen Brewing Company

  • Klar and Krispi Lagerbier – Top Flight selection
  • This Must Be The Pale: Rescue Brew – A 5.5% ABV batch of their pale ale brewed in collaboration with Pet Haven. Taproom exclusive, as of last week.

Duluth Cider

  • Styrian Wolf Blood Orange Hopped Cider – A semi-sweet summer crusher cider with blood orange, plus citrus and floral notes.

ENKI Brewing Co.

  • Winnie the Brew – A blonde ale with honey that adds a delicate sweetness at the finish. 5.3% ABV, 17 IBU.

Excelsior Brewing Company

  • Oktoberfest
  • Pineapple Mango Hard Seltzer – 5.0% ABV

Fair State Brewing Cooperative

  • Aperitivo – “A Negroni-inspired drink made with our gluten-free brewed base. It has all the resinous citrus peel and earthy bitter flavors you’d expect with a pleasant herbal finish,” Fair State says of this very limited beer, available only at their Cellar Saturday event in their biergarden on Saturday.
  • Festbier – The German-style fest lager is available in liquor stores now and taps at the brewery on September 18.
  • Stranger in the Alps – Top Flight selection

Falling Knife Brewing Company

  • Rad Wolf – Top Flight selection

Fat Pants Brewing Co.

  • Juicyfication – A juicy, hazy IPA.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company

  • Idaho Gem West Coast IPA – One of two new beers in the Propagator Series mixed pack, this IPA offers floral flavors of pineapple, blackberry, and mojito, the brewery says. 5.6% ABV.
  • Strata Hazy IPA – Another IPA sold in the Propagator Series mixed pack, sold with Idaho Gem, Flyjack, and Union Jack IPAs, this new recipe delivers citrus, orange candy, and passion fruit flavors with a notable dankness, the brewery says. 5.6% ABV. Also sold nationally in 12-packs.

Fulton Brewery

  • Raspberry Hefeweizen – Top Flight selection

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

  • TropiCoastal Tropical IPA – A New, bright and aromatic IPA with ripe tropical fruit flavors and an easy finish, the brewery says. Sold in 6- and 12-packs and on draft. 6.0% ABV, 60 IBU.

HeadFlyer Brewing Company

  • Czech Yo Self Pils – “This Czech Lager has a straw yellow color and the fresh aromas of Spring. It has nuanced malt flavors with a crisp finish,” HeadFlyer says.
  • Wreck Yo Self – A cold-fermented IPA with crisp, refreshing character and a clean body but also a strong dose of Citra, Mosaic, and Amarillo hops. 7.9% ABV.

Humble Forager Brewery

  • Humble Bumble: Pina Colada version 3 – A hard seltzer made with coconut, pineapple, mango, lime, lily flowers, and goldenrod honey.

Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

  • Downriver – An 8% ABV hazy IPA made in collaboration with A-Side Public House.

Lakes & Legends Downriver • Photo via Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

Luce Line Brewing Co.

  • Better Days Pub Ale – “This style of beer displays an earthy, herbal English-variety hop character,” the brewery says. “The resulting beer is reminiscent of English toast with apricot jam. It’s slightly biscuity and bitter enough to cut through the maltiness of the beer but still maintain its drinkability.” 4.2% ABV, 37 IBU.
  • Sunshine Hard Seltzer – A fruited hard seltzer with pineapple, guava, and passion fruit. 6.0% ABV.

Lupulin Brewing Company

  • Thorchata – A horchata-inspired cream ale. 9% ABV and on tap at the brewery.
  • Two Nutz – The 5.8% ABV nut brown ale is currently being served at the taproom.

Modist Brewing Co.

  • Cobra Triangle – An oak foeder-aged Pilsner. On tap this Saturday and in stores beginning next Tuesday.
  • Hypersolid White Label – “Everything that you loved about the previous Hypersolid, but slightly different,” Modist explains. “Hypersolid White Label is a New England IPA hopped and dry-hopped with Citra, Eldorado Cryo, and Simcoe Cryo.” On tap this Saturday and in liquor stores beginning next Tuesday.
  • Identically Different – A gluten-reduced New England-style IPA made with millet pale malt, rolled oats, plus Citra, Cryo El Dorado, and Sabro hops.

Oliphant Brewing

  • Drakula Weed – A West Coast-style IPA made with Cascade, Chinook, Simcoe, and Warrior hops. 6% ABV.
  • Ennui’d Citra – Citra hops set the tone in this single-hopped IPA at 7.5% ABV.
  • Seis Seis Seis: The Strawberry Marg Of The Beast – A margarita-inspired sour ale with strawberry. 5% ABV.

OMNI Brewing Co.

  • Taps – A pale ale brewed in celebration of Veterans Appreciation Weekend. Veterans and military personnel get a free pint, plus a portion of sales go to a good cause.

Samuel Adams Beer

  • Oktoberfest 

Schell’s Brewery

  • Oktoberfest – The rich and balanced Marzen-style festbier is back for another season. 5.8% ABV.

Shakopee BrewHall

  • Banana Hammock – This Weizenbock tapped on Tuesday and offers something a little heavier as the nights start getting cooler.
  • The Riveter – An Irish cream ale, tapped last week: “Enjoy the Brewhall’s ‘Women’s Brew Day’ beer release…A bit of a twist on the traditional style, with addition of milk sugar, i.e. lactose, expect a smooth finish. This beer is a very clear and bold auburn color,” the brewery explains.

Stone Brewing

  • Hazy IPA – A new hazy IPA with notes of mango, pineapple, orange, honey-dew melon, herbaceous hops, and lingering pine. Sold nationwide in 12-ounce cans and on draft. 6.7% ABV, 35 IBU.

Surly Brewing Company

  • 13 – Unveiled on Friday the 13th, this spooky annual release is a maple barrel-aged imperial stout brewed with vanilla beans and lactose. “Expect notes of dark chocolate, roasted malt, and aromatic vanilla atop the rich maple flavors coursing beneath this luscious, decadent ale,” the brewery says. Sold in individual 16-ounce cans and on draft. 12.5% ABV.

Venn Brewing Company

  • Arnie Palmer Wheat Ale – A wheat ale with lemon and black tea. 5.8% ABV, 15 IBU.
  • Cosmosis: Zest Fest – A 9.0% fruited kettle sour with Sour with blood orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, and lime.

Waconia Brewing Company

  • Hazy IPA

Wild Mind Ales

  • Night People brewed with Phantasm – “This IPA combines the bitter Mosaic, Citra, Citra Cryo, Nelson Sauvin hops with the sweetness of phantasm,” the brewery says. 7.1% ABV.
  • The Great Silence – A double IPA made with Kveik yeast, honey, and a hop cocktail offering citrus and tropical notes and then refermented on raw honey and passion fruit puree. 8.1% ABV.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

  • Coconut Cluster – A roasty 6.2% ABV porter infused with cocoa nibs, toasted coconut, and hazelnut.

Have a new beer we should know about? Send the details to newbeer@beerdabbler.com for inclusion in Freshies.